Protecting-plate.



llllllIlilllllllllllilllllll I lll III OTIS M. DRUSE, OF OMAHA, NEBRASKA.v

PROTECTING-PLATE.

v Specification of Letters Patent.

Application tiled April 4, 1913.

Patented Oct. 21, 1913. Serial No. 758,863. i

To all ywhom, t muy fom-wr):

e it known that I, O'rls M. Dntisn, a citizen ot the llnited States. residing at (hnaha, in the county of Douglas and State of Nebraska, have invented new and uselul Improvements in Protecting-llates, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to protecting platesl for switch or frog rails, and is designed to provide a simple but effective means for preventing trainmen and others from having their feet caught between the said frog or switch rails, while attempting to pass over the same.

The improveimnt resides in the construction, comonatitm and arrangement of parts set forth in the. 'following specification and falling within'the scope of thc appended claim.

ln the drawing there has been illustrated a satisfactory reduction of my improvement to practice, and in said drawing: Figure l is a perspective view illustrating my improvement in applied position between the rails of a frog or switch, Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view through the same, and Fig, 3 is a detail perspective view ot oneot the protector plates. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective iiew illustrating the protecting plates arranged upon the ties and showing the end of a switch or frog rail disposed a suitable distance away from the main rail.

As is well known to track-walkers, track construction and repairing men, the converging rails of a switch or frog are regarded as extremely dangerous to persons having occasion to Walk the tracks or ties, for the reason that a persons foot is liable to become .so wedged therein as to prevent the ready withdrawal of'the same, and upon numerous occasions persons having their feet so wedged and unable to remove the same in time to avoid an approaching train have had their wedged foot severed and others in a likt predicament have lost their lives.

l/Vith the knowledge of such conditions and circumstances, it is a primary object of this invention to provide a simple but thoroughly etfective. device, which may be readily applied to the rails and which willV elt'ectivcly prevent such accidents.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, lt-l-lt designate the rails of a switch or frog which are, of course, arranged at an angle with relation to each other to provide a substantially Vshaped channel between the rails. The rails R have their base flanges secured to the ties T by the usual spikes S. It may here. be stated that the channeled faces ot' the rails are greatly responsible for accidents, as above enumerated, occurring at the trogis the foot of the person caught between the rails of the frog is tightly wedged against the opposite webs of the two rails R, and the ankle of the person4 is disposed between the inner faces of the heads of the rail, so that it is impossible to withdraw the foot by an upward movement, and thus it will be noted that to remove the impinged foot, it is necessary that the same be removed baekwardly in a longitudinal direction in order that the space between the heads of the rails will be sufficient to permit of the upward movement of the foot. therefore, provide protecting plates P-P for each ot' the opposite faces of the frog rails lt, the said plates being of a desired length and extending rearwardly from the meeting points ot' the rails. These plates P have their upper edges provided with flanges I" which are adapted to lie beneath' the heads of the rails R and to have their inner longitudinal edges contact with the webs ot' the rails when a pressure is exerted upon the enter YFaces of the plates P. The opposite or lower longitudinal edges of the plates 1 are also flanged to provide what I will term the base members B of the plates. The base members B are adapted to underlie the base (hingesl of the rails R,and' to be arranged upon the upper faces of the ties T. The plates 1 are constructed of spring metal, and their bent flanges F and G are adapted to exert an outward pressure, one away from the other, and the flanges F engaging with the inclined underfaces of the rails exert a sufficient pressure or tension against the said under-faces of the rails to sustain the same properly against said. un derfaces without the employment of 4bther securing means.

In arranging the plates upon the rails after the frog has been laid or spiked to the ties T, it is merely necessary to withdraw the spikes S, which engage with the inner or opposite longitudinal edges of the base flanges of the rails, to permit of the base portions B of the plates P being properly positioned. The spikes S are again driven to within the ties T, but the offset portions of their heads are arranged away from the base flanges ofthe rails, so that the said oil'- set portions will not engage with and mutilate the plates P. To those skilled in the art, it is known that the ordinary spikes S have their heads not only formed with a li which normally overlies the base flanges oi) the rails, but the rear portion of said head is -provided with a knob or bulging portion K, and this knob K sufliciently enages with the lower face of the plate P to vorce the same tightly against the longitudinal edge of the rail R as Well as partially overlying the said longitudinal edge and thus effectively sustainy both the rail and' plate in proper position and against accidental' displacement incident to the vibra tion occasioned by the rolling stock passing over the rails.

With a device as above described, it will be noted that the plates P have their faces beveled or inclined, that is, the said plates liavetheir upper edges arranged in a plane Wi h the balls of the rails, and their lower 'edges-'arranged in a plane with the base flange/sof the rails, and the base flanges are of course extended at a greater distance from the ends of the webs of the rails than are the heads, so that a person walking the tracks and having his foot placed within the plate may readily, with a slight exertion, remove his oot'from between the plates.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new is:

A protector for frogs of railway rails, comprising a .dat resilient plate having an upper inturned portion providing a Hange which is adapted to underlie the head of the rail and to exert a tension upon the underfaee of the rail, the plate having` its lower edge beveled to provide a resilient haseinemher which adapted to be arranged heneath the hase flange of the rail and supported upon the ties which also supportI the rail, and means comprising a spike adapted to engage with the lower edge of the plate for sustaining the plate against the rail.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

OTIS M. DRUSE. Witnesses:

W. E. SHEPARD, H. W. Yarns, Jr. 

